Excellent work by the USCG.I have always said that that should be their main function is saving lives at sea, they do it well as is the case here finding a needle in a hay stack. Those guys didn’t REALLY have a chance had it not been for the coasties.
some of there other responsibilities such as vessel inspection work. should be left to the private sector to people in the profession that do it all the time, Bureau Veritas- ABS - NAMS ect. but as we all know once given a responsibility they will not relinquish it.
I will have to say that in Galveston in the 90s, the inspectors were pretty good, and as the ABS surveyor, I worked with them closely. What I found to be the problem back then was when the Port State Inspection program started. They did not use their ship inspectors, and there were issues.
way back when,in the 80’s you would get a chief warrant office that really new their stuff and were there for years. Excellent and very knowledgeable. but the Brass thought they were getting too chummy with the vessel owners and surveyors so they started rotating them out every six month. so you would have to break in a new “kid” who didn’t know much. before I retired in 2019, the ABS surveyor ran the show and the USCG was just tag along. especially on the inspection work. I got along fine with ABS as we were always on the same page. My standards of repairs were based on my workings with them over 40 years. it was when the 19 year old would show up alone, come to the wrong conclusion and then we had to take it to the commander who generally tried to back up his people, always made the job take along longer. you new you had a greenie when they asked you questions like"whats a sponson".
i would always get my barge inspection work done early in the morning when it was cooler inside the tanks. then get them down in the afternoon when it was hot so they didn’t linger:)
Bruce Cibley
Marine Surveyor C.M.S. R.T.
Cell: 510 919 7554
Ever do the “attractive nuisance” trick? Something like putting a fire extinguisher with a big EXPIRED DO NOT USE tag on it where the inspector will just about trip over it?
Gives them something to do and they might be happy and go home early
When they were the lifeboat service there motto was “you have to go out, you don’t have to come back”
Now it’s
Semper paradise Always ready
They do an outstanding job of saving lives but should leave the inspection work to the private sector. We know more in a very narrow focus
Of all the many, many amazing rescues in the annals of the Coast Guard, perhaps none was a better example of seamanship and determination not to give up than the exploits of the 205’ USCGC Tamaroa in the 1991 “Perfect Storm.” That the skipper and crew were able to keep their ship on its feet and underway in those incredible conditions is nothing short of amazing. But to rescue 7 people from a foundering sailboat (with the aid of a helo) and a crashed National Guard aircraft while doing it is flat out miraculous. A lot of descriptions of the Tamaroa’s operations in that storm have been published, probably Sebastian Junger’s being one of the best. I can’t find the skipper’s name at the moment, but he was at the con the entire time and his depth of experience, and the superb work of his crew, was probably what made the difference between what happened and the Tamaroa being another casualty of the storm. Going the way of all ships, sadly, the Tamaroa was scuttled in 2017 to add to an offshore fisheries reef project off NJ. A very proud little ship for sure!
a coast guard sea story - once upon a time in the Berring sea, on a midwatch on the USCGC Sherman there was a mayday call came over on channel 16. The alert QMOW grabbed the checklist and the radio
sir what is your position? - answer
name of your vessel- answer
pob- answer
nature of your distress - we are on fire
a few more questions- answered but starting to sound mad
Sir - color of your vessel- why do you need that?
Sir to help identify you
Identify me - identify me - i am the only F!$@/in vessel out here on fire.
I once heard on HF SSB the USCG station in Hawaii sorrowfully explaining to a yacht in distress in the Pacific that their closest asset was a week’s sailing away. I couldn’t hear the other side of the conversation.
One old Captain and “Old China hand” always started his stories about near misses, catastrophes and F*ckups with; “mind you I was not on the bridge at the time”
